


Two Doctors

by ChristieZ



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:55:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28806183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristieZ/pseuds/ChristieZ
Summary: The year is 2398. Julian Bashir has come back to Deep Space Nine for groundbreaking research into silicon-based viruses that could be revolutionary, so revolutionary that he is up for the Carrington Award again.So why is he so down? And why has a younger version of him appeared in the Infirmary?
Relationships: n/a
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9
Collections: Sid City Social Club Script Collection





	Two Doctors

ACT 1, SCENE 1

Black screen. 

DR. JULIAN BASHIR (VO)

Personal Log: Stardate 75486.3   
I’ve found my 100th patient, and on a familiar planet — BAJOR. Anara Sul’s case was diagnosed early, something rare for a patient with Mendaxic Neurosclerosis. If the treatment works, it’ll mark a milestone in treatment of silicon-based viruses not seen in over a decade — and for me personally a step toward rectifying a great regret. 

Bajor’s government offered me my choice of labs to work on Anara’s case. Since Dr. Girani’s expanded the medical labs on DEEP SPACE NINE, and I’d been meaning to visit for some time, now seemed as good a time as any. 

But it may have been a mistake to come here. I’ve been back on the station only a few hours, and already I’m distracted. It’s the weight of memories… and ghosts. 

INT. Medical Lab, Deep Space Nine.

Bashir is working at a console. There’s a signal, and a voice overhead speaks. 

OPS (VO)  
Dr. Bashir, there’s a priority call coming in from Bajor.   
It’s the first minister. 

BASHIR  
(Without looking up)  
Thank you, I’ll take it here. 

The screen switches and reveals KIRA NERYS, First Minister of Bajor. She doesn’t wait for his greeting. 

KIRA  
(Playful agitation)  
How dare you! Did you actually think you could get away with coming to Bajor and not stopping by?

BASHIR  
(Responding to her tone)  
First minister, I apologize! I was under the impression you would be too busy running the planet!

KIRA  
Well, you know what happens when you assume!   
(Chuckles)  
How did your first appointment with Anara Sul go?

BASHIR  
Fine, it went fine.

KIRA  
That’s it? Fine?

BASHIR  
Nerys — doctor-patient confidentiality.

KIRA  
OK… how are you?

BASHIR   
Tired… and anxious to get to work. 

KIRA  
Well, Dr. Girani takes a lot of pride in those labs, so you’re in good hands on the station.   
And I heard they even assigned you your old quarters. 

BASHIR  
Yes, it was kind of them… or was that you?

KIRA  
Well it’s the least I could do for the legendary Dr. Julian Bashir — two-time Carrington Award nominee. 

BASHIR  
Oh no, stop please. 

KIRA   
(Chuckles)  
We’re all proud of you! Dax, Nog, Kassidy, Jake, Morn, Grand Nagus Rom, Castellan Garak —

BASHIR  
Was there a reunion I wasn’t invited to?

KIRA  
Quark bet 5 bars of latinum on you to win. 

BASHIR  
(Shocked)  
I’m not covering that. If I lose, he loses. 

KIRA  
I was surprised too, but he said he always bets on Bashir.   
(a beat)  
By the way, he’s copyrighted that on Ferenginar, along with your likeness, he has a whole line of merchandise…   
you might want to do something about that.  
(a beat)  
Keiko’s proud of you too. 

BASHIR  
… Keiko?

KIRA  
She says Miles is very excited. She also says he misses you. 

BASHIR  
(Quietly)  
I miss him too.   
(a beat)  
Look, Nerys, I’m all in. I think I should try to get some sleep.   
It’s been a long day. 

KIRA  
Okay. But we will talk later, right?

BASHIR  
(Smiles)  
Yes, First Minister. I’ll try to fit you in. 

KIRA  
You’d better. Good night, Julian. 

Screen goes black. 

Bashir sits back in his chair and smiles, then grows serious. He starts to get up. 

Another signal. 

OPS (VO)  
Dr. Bashir, please report to the Infirmary. 

BASHIR  
(Irritated)  
On my way. 

END SCENE

SCENE 2

Screen black.

BASHIR (VO)  
Personal Log: Supplemental. Earlier I mentioned ghosts.   
Well — it appears one of those will be my own. 

INT. Infirmary, Deep Space Nine.

Bashir sits pensively next to a patient on a biobed. 

Slowly the patient, DR. JULIAN BASHIR (2371) opens his eyes, takes a breath, looks around. To him, his Infirmary has changed in little ways. He props himself on his elbows. 

Bashir leans in, curious.

BASHIR  
Hello, Julian.

BASHIR (2371)  
(Double take)  
Hello… Julian?  
END SCENE

SCENE 3. 

INT. Infirmary.

Bashir is standing in front of a monitor, where Kira is on screen.

KIRA  
(Almost with dread)  
There are two of you?

BASHIR  
You had to say it like that?

KIRA  
… I’m sorry, I just… how?

BASHIR  
I don’t know exactly yet.   
But did you know there’s an Orb on DS9 right now?

Kira is confused for a moment, then it dawns on her.

KIRA  
The Bajoran Time of Cleansing just ended. The Shrine requested an Orb be sent to DS9 as part of the observances. But they sent the Orb of Wisdom. The Orb of Time is never allowed to leave the Temple in Ashalla... for obvious reasons.

BASHIR  
Maybe, but in my, well, our experience, an Orb on the station usually means anything can happen.

KIRA  
(A Beat)  
And he’s definitely a younger you?

BASHIR  
Girani is doing a full exam now, but all initial scans show DNA, blood type, biometrics, all the same. 

KIRA  
I wonder what that could mean… contact me when you know more. 

BASHIR  
I will. Bashir out. 

Kira’s screen goes black. 

Bashir goes to the patient area, where Bashir (2371)’s exam has just finished. He’s alone. 

BASHIR  
How do you feel?

BASHIR(2371)  
Well the headache has gone away,   
but everything is still brighter than usual. 

BASHIR  
Probably a side effect of however you got here.  
(A beat)  
So how did you get here?

BASHIR (2371)  
I have no idea. Last thing I remember, I was in the Replimat working on something and I’d just gotten up.   
Then I was in here, on a bed, looking at… you. 

BASHIR  
What year was it?

BASHIR (2371)  
2371\. Stardate 48552.9. 

Bashir starts working the date in his mind. 

BASHIR (2371)  
Dr. Girani says it’s 2398? She also says she’s the chief medical officer right now, not you, so…

BASHIR  
Julian? Congratulations on your Carrington nomination. 

BASHIR (2371)  
Thank you… what?

BASHIR  
(Remembering)  
There’s a Bajoran Orb on Grand Nagus Zek’s ship. You don’t know that yet, but I don’t think telling you will cause too much of an issue with Starfleet temporal regulations… not that it really matters for me, anymore. 

BASHIR (2371)  
Yes well I’ve already had one debrief with Temporal Investigations this year and I’d prefer to avoid another… wait, you — why doesn’t it matter for you?

BASHIR  
That would be telling. But the Orb on Zek’s ship is the Orb of Wisdom. Which also happens to be on the station right now. 

BASHIR (2371)  
Correlation does not imply causation — 

BASHIR  
But it is a good jumping off point. So, you go to our quarters, get some rest… 

BASHIR (2371)  
You are not getting rid of me that easily, I have questions!

BASHIR  
Which I probably either can’t answer, or shouldn’t answer, and besides I have my own work to do. I’ll contact Kira, she’ll notify the Vedek Assembly, and they’ll figure out how to get you home. 

BASHIR (2371)  
And I’m supposed to spend all my time doing what, resting? You can’t just dismiss me like this!

BASHIR  
(Getting annoyed)  
I can try. 

BASHIR (2371)  
What are you working on? Surely there’s some step I could take on that wouldn’t clue me in too much and make the work go faster for you. I could catalog samples, or work on spectral analyses, or…   
BASHIR  
(Resigned)  
All right, all right. Remind me again how much you know about silicon-based viruses.

BASHIR (2371)  
Extremely rare, difficult to diagnose, always fatal for carbon-based lifeforms, but treatable if —

BASHIR  
That’s enough to start.   
(A beat)  
Okay. Lets go to the lab. 

END SCENE.

SCENE 4.

INT. DS9 Medical Labs. 

Kira is on screen. Bashir (2371) is in another room in the lab, while Kira and Bashir quietly talk. Kira has answers, but it is clear they are not what Bashir wants to hear. 

KIRA  
It’s called an empathic projection. It happens when an Orb can sense a need for guidance, even from one who doesn’t actively seek it. The need is so strong that it causes the Prophets to reach out to help. But no one knows why or how it happens. And the Prophets aren’t exactly forthcoming with answers.

BASHIR  
But the younger me clearly isn’t a projection, he’s flesh and blood. 

KIRA  
What the Vedek Assembly suspects is that the Prophets sensed the need but decided the best person to reach you is… you… which actually makes sense in a way.  
(Smiles)  
And since the Prophets are non-linear, they decided to connect your two selves through the two Orbs, since both of you were in the same time and place with the Orbs, which means Orbs may have a non-linear connection with themselves outside the Celestial Temple and… I have to say, that is —

BASHIR  
(Agitated)  
So, we take a shuttle and the Orb, go into the wormhole and the Prophets will return him to his own time. Can you get the Assembly to let me borrow the Orb for a few hours? You could come along.

KIRA  
It doesn’t work that way, Julian. You know the Prophets work on their own timetable. The Orb sensed a need for guidance. The Prophets responded. They will decide when that need is satisfied. 

BASHIR  
I don’t have time for this, I have a patient I’m treating, that treatment is on a schedule, I don’t have time to babysit myself!

KIRA  
Babysit?

BASHIR  
He’s… infuriating!

KIRA  
(Holds in laughter)  
Oh… is he?

BASHIR  
He sat there and talked… 20 minutes straight! Stopping only to sip tea and breathe.

KIRA  
Is that so?

BASHIR  
And every so often he words a statement in such a way that maybe, just maybe I would say something and give up just the tiniest bit of information about the last 30 years, even though he knows we need to be careful about preserving the timeline, he’s… he’s a distraction! And a pest!

Kira can’t hold it in anymore. She almost falls out of her chair. Bashir’s agitation is tempered until he finally has to laugh too. Kira wipes her eyes.

KIRA  
You know, the Prophets work in mysterious ways, but if this is what they were planning, after all these years, it was worth it. Tell yourself how you really feel, maybe they’ll send you home a better man!

BASHIR  
Hey!

KIRA  
(Laughing again)  
No, we wouldn’t be that lucky. 

BASHIR  
I owe all of you an abject apology apparently for my years of obnoxiousness. I’ll put it on my To Do List.  
(A beat)  
So you think my younger self is seeking guidance for something, and the Prophets felt the need to intervene. I can’t think of anything from that back then that would cause something like this. In fact, I can’t even remember something like this happening.

KIRA  
Why do you think the Prophets are trying to help him and not you? 

Kira’s question is more than just a serious one, it’s a probing one. 

KIRA  
Julian, it’s been 13 years. It’s possible even non-linear beings think that’s too long a time to go without forgiving yourself.

BASHIR  
… I have to get back to work. And I better check on… myself. I’ll talk to you later. 

Bashir shuts down the call before Kira can say more. He sits back in his chair and considers her words. 

BASHIR  
She’s wrong. 

BASHIR (2371)  
About what?

Bashir (2371) is in a doorway, a PADD in hand. He’s watching Bashir intently.

BASHIR (2371)  
The latest analysis from Anara Sul’s samples.   
So far it looks like the tissue regeneration is starting to take hold, but the rate is painfully slow. Too slow to make a difference as the virus replicates.

BASHIR  
(Taking the PADD)  
No it’s fine, the next treatment phase will accelerate growth. And then the chips in the third phase will help with neuron firing until the tissue is able to work on its own. 

BASHIR (2371)  
And the chips are what release the anti-virals?

Bashir tries not to roll his eyes, glances up from his PADD with a look that says “watch it.”

BASHIR (2371)  
I know. Need to know basis, right? And I don’t need to know.  
(A beat)  
I have to say, this is really promising. I could have used this a few months ago. I might have been able to keep Bareil alive long enough to get him in stasis.   
With any luck, he might still be here now. 

Bashir suddenly realizes Bashir (2371) has figured out some of what he is trying to do. He puts down the PADD and looks up at his younger self. 

BASHIR (2371)  
This isn’t just about trying to cure Mendaxic Neurosclerosis. If diagnosed in the early stages, with a positronic matrix you can cultivate the antivirals needed to combat MN, there’s no significant brain or nerve damage to worry about.   
But you’re trying to grow new brain tissue for the purposes of fusing it to already existing tissue, replacing the damaged tissue. Good as new, like nothing ever happened.   
Biological brain implants, no need for positronic ones. If it works, it’s… game-changing. On par with the discovery of penicillin, decoding DNA and curing cancer… worthy of a Carrington?

BASHIR   
The award ceremony is in three weeks.

BASHIR (2371)  
You’re still too young… not that you’re not… more mature. But you’re still too young. You have… decades to go before you should win a Carrington.  
(A beat)  
But that’s besides the point. The point is, there’s no need to treat someone like Anara Sul with this technique unless for some reason positronic matrices don’t exist anymore. How can you possibly have enough patients to make a verifiable sample size? 

BASHIR  
What if I told you Anara is my 100th test case? All non-humans. More likely to have MN because they all have more silicon in their cellular makeup than humans. So there’s something for the virus to latch onto for replication. Still rare, but still possible. 

Bashir (2371) is surprised. He chooses his next words carefully. 

BASHIR (2371)  
MN is just an excuse to create proof that your technique works. I have no doubt that you want to help these people. But this isn’t about them. Julian… what’s happened? What are you afraid to say?

BASHIR  
You know I can’t tell you that!

BASHIR (2371)  
And I can’t help you anymore without more information.

BASHIR  
(Angry)  
And I recall saying I didn’t want your help! But you have done nothing but pushed and prodded your way in all day, like you always do! Don’t you understand that even a hint of your future could lead to you altering it someday? Do you really think just because you’re secretly smarter than everyone, because you’ve held the power of life and death in your hands as a doctor, because you’ve finely honed that vaunted moral standard you always try to maintain, that you can also ably, consciously make decisions that could affect the course of time while simultaneously knowing what will happen?

BASHIR (2371)  
(Shocked)  
I… I just want to understand.

BASHIR  
Julian, for once, in your Goddamned life, stop trying to understand, and just listen, and accept. I am not going to tell you anything. I am not here to help you to understand. I’m not here for you. Go to our quarters and stay there until this is over!

The two Bashirs just stand there and stare at each other. Finally Bashir (2371) moves for the door. Before going through, he stops and turns around. 

BASHIR (2371)  
You’re right. Just a hint of my future can make a difference. Because I’m going to make sure I never end up like you.

Bashir (2371) goes through the door. Bashir falls back into his chair.

END SCENE.  
SCENE 5. 

Int. Bashir’s quarters. 

Bashir (2371) is awkwardly laying on the couch. Bashir’s been watching him. He decides to wake him up. 

BASHIR  
Julian… come on. Get up. You’ll hurt your neck sleeping like that.

Bashir (2371) stretches, yawns and grasps the back of his neck with a wince. Bashir sits in a chair across from him.

BASHIR  
You see? Why didn’t you sleep in the bed?

BASHIR(2371)  
I tried but…   
(He chuckles)  
It was too comfortable. I couldn’t get used to it.

BASHIR  
(Chuckles)  
It’s amazing what we get used to.

BASHIR (2371)  
I thought we couldn’t remove the Cardassian beds. How were they able to replace those but not this old sofa?

BASHIR  
I’m fairly certain that thing is built into the bulkhead. Maybe they’re too afraid to try?

The two Bashirs pause and look at each other for a moment. 

BASHIR (2371)  
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that before.

BASHIR  
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. 

BASHIR (2371)  
Kira said I had it coming. She called earlier, by the way. We had a nice chat. She’s mellowed. 

BASHIR  
Don’t let her hear you say that. 

BASHIR (2371)  
(Chuckles)  
But I probably shouldn’t have spoken to her, right? I realize you’ve been trying to keep me from wandering the rest of the station. You’re taking this very seriously. 

BASHIR  
As you should be.   
(A beat)  
But… I had a nice chat too. At the bar. With Morn.

BASHIR (2371)  
Morn! He’s still here?

BASHIR  
Did you expect him to be somewhere else?

BASHIR (2371)  
Maybe dead from alcohol disease in one of his two livers. 

BASHIR  
Was that a joke? If so, it was a poor expression of Lurian anatomy, I expect better from you. 

BASHIR (2371)  
Yes, it was a joke. Or do we not do those anymore? I’m sorry. 

BASHIR  
Don’t apologize! I haven’t exactly been fun to be around. 

Bashir pulls out a tricorder.

BASHIR  
I want to do one more scan of you, Julian.

BASHIR (2371)  
Okay. What are we looking for?

BASHIR  
(watching the readings as he scans his younger self)  
Psilosynine. 

Bashir hands the tricorder to Bashir (2371), who marvels at the futuristic design.

BASHIR   
Now scan me please.

BASHIR (2371)  
(Moving the tricorder)  
Your levels are off the charts. 

BASHIR  
And your levels are completely normal. All your levels in fact — your blood pressure hasn’t moved from where it was when you first got here. And neither have your brain waves.   
Even while you were asleep.   
(A beat)  
Did Kira tell you what the prevailing theory is for our situation?

BASHIR (2371)  
Empathic projection from an Orb. 

BASHIR   
The question I’ve been pondering all evening — are the Prophets trying to help me, or you?   
(He takes the tricorder)  
But this confirms it. 

BASHIR (2371)  
Psilosynine levels increase in people having Orb visions.

BASHIR  
(Nods)  
You’re the projection. You’re my Orb vision.  
You’ve been sent here to help me.   
(A Beat)  
And if that’s the case… maybe there isn’t any harm in telling you… everything. 

BASHIR (2371)  
Well, the Doctor is in, tell me what’s troubling you.

Bashir smiles and starts to speak, but even then, it’s hard to say. He begins again.

BASHIR  
Thirteen years ago we… I… made a mistake. Well, the Federation made a mistake. But it proved to be a costly one. And it’s one I didn’t try to stop. I don’t know. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered. Maybe I regard my opinion too highly. 

BASHIR (2371)  
(Chuckles)  
Fatal flaw.

BASHIR  
(Smiles)  
You keep asking why I’m not using a positronic matrix to treat Anara Sul. I’m sure you’ve already grasped at least part of the reason by now. 

BASHIR (2371)  
They’re not available anymore.   
Something happened that stopped their use. 

BASHIR  
They’re not just unavailable. They’re banned. By the Federation.   
(A beat)  
There was an attack at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards. Synthetic lifeforms, androids, created to work with humanoid crews, killed their colleagues and destroyed the facility. 92,143 people dead. I could tell you all of their names.  
I’m afraid the last three decades tested the fortitude of Federation’s moral core. I won’t go into details, you’ll start to see why yourself, soon enough. But when the attack happened the Federation reacted. Swiftly. Forcefully. It banned synthetics from existing within the Federation. And it was uncompromising. Anything remotely related to the production of non-biological lifeforms was purged from the Federation. 

But not everyone in the scientific community agreed with it. Members from Starfleet Medical’s Advisory Council campaigned to keep positronic matrices for medical treatment purposes. There was a vote on recommended guidelines, which the Federation Council and Starfleet promised to support -- if supporters had the votes.  
(A beat)  
And when it came time to cast that vote… I abstained.

Bashir (2371) is dumbfounded. Bashir looks away.

BASHIR (2371)  
Why?

BASHIR  
Because I was...angry. And I was scared. For me it was personal.   
(A beat)  
Miles was on Mars that day. He and a group of cadets were touring a facility designing the new Inquiry-class starships.   
He took his son with him.   
The building they were in came down in the attack and… Some of his students managed to get to an escape pod and get off world. They said as it started to fall, Miles managed to manually trigger a force field that created an air pocket. It gave his students enough time to safely get to the pod. 

BASHIR (2371)  
And Miles and his son?

BASHIR  
Kirayoshi was only 12. He was so smart. And wise. You could see it in him when he was just a baby.   
(A beat)  
We thought Miles was dead too. The escape pod was damaged by debris on the way out of orbit. It floated for… days before it was found. It meant rescue teams were delayed in searching for the O’Briens. We all thought they were dead.

BASHIR (2371)  
So when the vote happened… 

BASHIR  
The others came to me, begged me to vote against the total ban. “You know this is wrong,” they said.  
But the truth is, I did. And I didn’t care. I was too busy trying to comfort my best friend’s widow to even think about it.   
Finally I agreed to just not vote. Just to get them to go away. They believed they had the votes, as long as I abstained.   
But it turned out, they didn’t.   
And then they found him. Miles somehow was alive. Buried in the rubble of that facility. Clutching the body of his son.   
I personally replaced his lungs, his liver, his pancreas, his right femur, I grafted several new arteries. But I couldn’t replace the parts of his brain that were damaged from lack of oxygen and from gashes that cracked his skull. 

BASHIR (2371)  
You might have been able to replace some of the damage using positronic pieces, but you wouldn’t have been able to fix everything.

BASHIR  
But it would have been better than nothing. I asked for special dispensation, on behalf of the O’Brien family. It was denied. The arrogance to think I could have gotten special permission to bend Federation law in that political climate after I myself stood aside. After that, I didn’t want to be part of Starfleet.   
(A beat.)   
No, Miles is alive. But he’s still trapped. And I am partly responsible. And if it takes the rest of my life, I will get him out.

There’s a silence. Finally, Bashir (2371) leans in.

BASHIR (2371)  
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.   
(A beat)  
But also… to err is human.   
And you are still a good man, Doctor Julian Subatoi Bashir. Even now. Don’t ever forget it. 

Bashir (2371) picks up a PADD from a table.

BASHIR (2371)  
I have something for you. I think I figured out how to resolve the electrical surges you were wrestling with in the third phase of your human brain simulations. 

BASHIR  
How did you… of course you broke into the database.

BASHIR (2371)  
(Smiles)  
Your instincts were right, you never should have left me alone. Your use of bio-chips to help stabilize the synapses in Anara Sul reminded me of some early research into fusing neurons with silicon circuits on microchips. The original hope was to treat neurological disorders so… in theory, it could be useful. And you already have a working knowledge of how silicon functions because of your MN research. 

Bashir scrolls through the PADD, drinking in Bashir (2371)’s research at lightning speed. It’s a eureka moment. He’s so elated, he doesn’t realize that his younger counterpart has literally faded away. 

BASHIR  
You’re right. It’s a bit crude, but with some modifications this could work. This could… Julian! You’re a —

Bashir realizes for the first time he’s alone. The Prophets have sent his younger self back to his own time, quietly. He sits back and contemplates all that’s happened in silence.

END SCENE.

SCENE 6. 

SCREEN BLACK. They’re a chirp, and First Minister Kira appears on screen, along with Dr. Bashir. 

BASHIR  
You’re the fourth person to check up on me today. 

KIRA  
How are you feeling? 

Bashir, with a wry smile, holds up a glass of brown liquid. 

KIRA  
Quark, by the way, is furious with you. He’s in trouble with the Ferenginar Gaming Commission, they are trying to strip him of his winnings because you refused the Carrington. 

BASHIR  
Tell him that’s his problem, I’m still not covering his bet.

KIRA  
Why don’t you tell him yourself?

BASHIR  
(Laughs)  
No thanks, I’ve had enough conversations with old friends for one day. 

KIRA  
Do you want me to go?

BASHIR  
(Smiles)  
Absolutely not. 

KIRA  
That was a brave thing you did, Julian, saying that you couldn’t accept it as long as the synthetics ban was in place. 

BASHIR  
No it wasn’t. But it was necessary. It’s not my time yet, that’s all.   
I’m still too young. I mean… I’m more mature. But I’m still too young.  
(Drains his glass)  
Besides, my next step will be even more amazing. I promise you. I’m seeing Miles and Keiko tomorrow. 

KIRA  
Good. Send them my love.

BASHIR  
Of course. Oh. I have a name for the treatment finally. It’s the Kirayoshi Method. 

KIRA  
(Touched)  
I think that’s a wonderful name. And I hope that next step is your greatest yet. 

SCREEN BLACK.

END SCENE.


End file.
